Be the Muhammad Ali of innovation

Stay nimble on your feet and dance around to see what's around you, both punches and opportunities

Harald Neidhardt, CMO and co-Founder of Smaato, has had two decades of experience in the marketing industry.  With his mobile advertising startup, Neidhardt is looking to put his online marketing know-how to work. 

Here are his lessons learned about marketing and how he's applying it to the mobile world. 

BF: What are the lessons you've learned? 

HN: Well, I think first of all if you start a company, you have to follow your dream, your gut feeling, and mostly your passion.  People either honor your passion or you can only work so much if you are really passionate for one topic.  And I think that is what is driving most of the energy you have and need.  So, one of the things you really need to learn is that you have to innovate all the time.  There’s always something new coming.  Either it’s an obstacle, a new invention or some trend.  You have to be on your feet kind of like Muhammad Ali, and dance around and just see where it’s coming from.  Which could be good or bad or both.  And in some instances you don't know if your friend turns out and that doesn't really work out any more and you have to change your business partnership if you will.  Working with the VC community can be great or can be challenging sometimes.  And on the other hand building a team and really looking into a more global aspect or perspective is important.  I'm obviously not American.  My Connecticut accent is really showing up.  

BF: It sounded like you were from the South.

HN: Thank you very much.  I actually spent 7 Years in New York and Connecticut.  But, I think starting a company you have to have a global perspective or at least a global antenna right away.  I think it's encouraging for entrepreneurs throughout the world that there is space for your idea, but you have to bring it to the market.  And in most of the cases I think Silicon Valley for anything Tech is the market.  We founded our company Smaato here in San Mateo, opening our new office in Redwood Shores a little bit closer to the city.

BF: Congratulations.

HN: Thank you.

BF: Cheaper rent?

HN: Well, it’s a great space and we can put more people in and keep hiring.  We are hiring in Europe and we are looking for 15 new people.  So it’s a real good time for the company, but in looking at the perspective I think it’s also that you can do certain things if you are 23, 30, or over 38.  

BF: But you haven't gotten there yet?

HN:  You tell me.  No, I think if you are young: you are ambitious, you have a lot of time, you don't have families, and so on so you can really focus on your work.  You can bring a lot of energy.  If you’re a little bit older you can build on your network, which is very important. One of the other lessons I can share is that you have to build your network, and you have to bring value back to your network, not only sucking stuff out but, basically bringing back.  For example, something we are doing with Smaato right now: our partners are the developers and we created a network together with Vator.tv and we want to bring some recognition and value back to the developers and make them stand out.  So I think that is playing not only as a business partner but also, there may be a nice event during CTIA so you’ve got to network and be a partner.

BF: Give back to your partners or the community.

HN: Yes, exactly.

BF: So I keep picturing this Muhammad Ali approach to innovation, making sure your nimble on your feet.  And you watch out for all the punches.  And I'm thinking back to the online marketing world where there has been, I remember back in 2000 where there was a huge inflow of advertising that went online.  But it was this farce that didn't really exist.  And so that to me is sort of like a blow and hopefully something that you learned how to duck and hopefully next time you'll see it coming.  Any experience specifically to advertising and online advertising that you are bringing to the mobile advertising world?

HN: Well, I think that online advertising started first of all with some innovation. We were creating CD-Roms and working with Peter Gabriel, creating travel planners, which were like the first way to capture and distribute electronic data.  And then I was at the tech conference, must have been ‘96, and somebody said, "Ah I brought you a student here Marc Andreesen and he has a cool new thing called Mosaic.” And he was clicking around in it and I was like, oh that’s cool, and it was academic text. and then you click on some purple thing and it goes to another academic text.  But then around the corner was Java and Sun, and they showed a little bit of Java innovation and you can sort of connect these a little.  In a way you were stuck in the old world.  Echo 1.0, Quicktime, and now the video is a little bigger.  It was like, I don't need academic text, we were in the video space.  But then 2 or 3 months later we were doing the first Webcast in Germany at the time and working with stuff online.  So even though you are in a good model you have to see that things are happening.  And then we went to the agencies and said this is great and we want advertising.  And they said, “Well we have all this TV budget, and what is online advertising and who has a modem?”  So you have to be persistent, persistent, persistent.  And then come back and even if it’s after a month, a year, a couple of years and say now it’s time.  And then obviously now it’s time and Marc Andreesen is no longer a student, he is now working with a lot of companies.

BF: Any mistakes?  Any failures? Setbacks?

HN: Always. The thing is that you have to look at is - what is the right timing for ideas?  Are you too early? Are you too late?

BF: Were you too early with something at one point in your career?

HN: Well, I started a company that did viral marketing and we were working for a cosmetic companies and sampling and so on.  And that was a great time in 2000.  The NASDAQ was still going up and we were collecting money and got some angel rounds.  But then all of the sudden the VC's told us we had to spend and hire people and so on.  And then obviously the market pulled a big stop out of it.  The VC was out of Europe, the company was in New York, and then all of a sudden they believed too much in the money aspect of it and not really in the revenue part.  I think you have to be close with your customers and not only the VC.  Make them your good friend but stick on the market and your customer, not necessarily following some advice on banking relationships.

BF: It's funny.  Yes you learn how revenue can fund your business as opposed to VC funding.  Thank you so much for sharing your insights as an entrepreneur.